We tap the knowledge of the Raiders’ SB Nation contributor to get the lay of the land for Week 9.
The Bengals are welcoming old friend Marvin Lewis back to Cincinnati this week as the struggling Las Vegas Raiders head to the Queen City. To get information for Week 9, we tapped the knowledge of Matt Holder of SB Nation’s Raiders site, Silver and Black Pride.
1.) AC: Give me a read on the job Antonio Pierce has done. I know there are shortcomings at quarterback, but is the prevailing opinion that he is doing well? Has Marvin Lewis had a sizable impact on the team?
MH: The terrible quarterback situation does excuse some of the losing, as any head coach would have a hard time winning with how Gardner Minshew has played this season. However, Pierce hasn’t done a good job as a head coach regarding game management and keeping the locker room engaged. He’s had several questionable punts late in the game, poor use of timeouts, and the infamous “business decisions” comment during a postgame press conference was unnecessary at best and caused a stir among the players at worst.
While it wasn’t necessarily related, Davante Adams asked for a trade about a week after that presser. Granted, that kind of comes with the territory of working with a young head coach who is still learning on the job. Mark Davis recently said as much, indicating that Pierce is going to keep his job this offseason.
As far as Lewis goes, he was supposed to be one of the people advising Pierce on how to properly handle situations as a head coach and all the game management stuff. So, either Pierce isn’t listening or Lewis isn’t doing his job. Last Friday, a report from Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline indicated it’s the latter as Pauline said that Lewis, and a few other assistant coaches, are “checked out and are basically just in Las Vegas to collect checks.”
2.) AC: Speaking of quarterback, is there any kind of reality that Gardner Minshew sticks next season, along with a rookie for a transitional year? Or, does that position group need a full rebuild?
MH: According to Over The Cap, Minshew’s contract includes an out that would save the Raiders $9.34 million of cap space with a post-June 1 cut while only costing them $4.66 million of dead cap. So, barring a dramatic turnaround in the second half of the season, I’d lean toward him being a one-and-done in Vegas.
I think it’s more likely that Aidan O’Connell sticks around while the front office drafts a quarterback to develop for the time being. The other option would be to sign a Joe Flacco-type quarterback in free agency to serve as the immediate starter and mentor for the rookie QB.
In other words, I think Minshew’s days with the Raiders are numbered. He’s been pretty bad this year.
3.) AC: Brock Bowers appears to be one of the lone bright spots on offense. Bengals fans were highly interested in him potentially coming to the team. What has he shown thus far?
MH: Bowers has been as advertised so far. He leads the NFL in receptions (52) and has the most yards (535) of any tight end. A big reason for that is when Adams was injured and eventually traded, Bowers became the team’s No. 1 receiver. The rookie can make plays with the ball in his hands as he’s been the YAC monster he was at Georgia and has been good in contested catches.
Opposing defenses have had to treat Bowers like a wide receiver, often putting their top corner on him. Patrick Surtain II spent most of the second half shadowing the No. 13 overall pick because he was picking the Broncos’ secondary apart. Bowers has already become the focal point of the offense and is one of the few silver linings for the team moving forward.
4.) AC: While the Bengals are struggling themselves, this appears to be a tough matchup for the Raiders. How would you attack Cincinnati and what is their best path to a road win this week?
MH: Offensively, the Raiders can’t run the ball this season, so it goes back to the guy we were just talking about. From here on out, Las Vegas’ game plan should be to pepper Bowers with targets until defenses prove they can stop him. Outside of the tight end, Jakobi Meyers has proven to be a good No. 2 receiver since he joined the team last season.
Meyers had been battling an injury and missed a few games before last week, but he had a solid performance in his return against the Chiefs by racking up six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. That being said, the Raiders’ offense is pretty easy to stop since they don’t have much of a ground game and have been getting sub-par quarterback play.
Defensively, I’m very worried about what Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (if healthy) can do to Vegas’ young secondary. Cornerbacks Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett are both in their first years as full-time starters. Jones was picked up off waivers after the Patriots cut him last year, and he showed some promise as a ball hawk down the stretch of 2023. However, he isn’t particularly sticky in coverage and has no interceptions so far this year, so he’s been giving up a lot of plays this season.
Bennett is more of a shutdown corner and has better numbers, but he is susceptible to a coverage break now and then and struggles to tackle after the catch, leading to big plays. The Raiders’ best chance at slowing the Bengals down on Sunday is if Maxx Crosby can take advantage of going against rookie right tackle Armarius Mims and get pressure on Joe Burrow.
5.) AC: The Bengals are heavy favorites this week—what is your take on the game and how do you see it playing out?
MH: Given the Bengals’ struggles at home this year, I do like the Raiders to cover. The team has been inconsistent this year, but Las Vegas has managed to play quality opponents like Baltimore and Kansas City tough. The Raiders even pulled off an upset on the road against the Ravens in Week 2. However, I don’t think the Raiders have enough talent to get the job done and win against the Bengals.
In other words, I think we could be in for a better game than a lot of people expect, but I don’t have confidence in the Raiders taking home the ‘W.’
Our thanks to Matt Holder for the chat. You can head over to their site for the other side of the conversation.
